Pew's Twitch stream exploded. No wonder Komina and WindyPeak Games stayed silent after the Tokyo International Game Festival. Komina's betrayal—ditching WindyPeak for Silent Hill's profits—ignited player fury. Gus Harper, the "King of Horror," had made P.T. ($3M) a global hit, reviving horror games. Komina, with a track record of botched projects, axed him to hog the IP.
Players raged. "Komina's killing Silent Hill! Five flops, and now they ditch the genius behind P.T.?" "They're a gambling company at heart—greedy as hell!" Pew, a horror game veteran, lost it. "FVK KOMINA!" he yelled, flipping off the camera. "You idiots ruined it!"
The chat erupted: "Dumbest move ever!" "Komina's murdering horror games!" "Fxxk KOMINA, I'm done!" "Hope Keizo Kamijo gets hit by a truck!" "Why aren't more people roasting them? Type harder!"
Pew tweeted: "Fxxk Komina Co., Ltd." Fans swarmed Komina's X accounts, chanting Fxxk KOMINA. It was verbal warfare, not literal, but Komina felt the heat.
In Komina's Tokyo office, the mood was grim. Yu Koizumi, marketing head, urged action. "This PR disaster's spiraling. We need to act now!" Opposite him sat President Keizo Kamijo and Silent Hill director Tsuna Yamamoto. They'd expected backlash for dropping Gus but not this firestorm, led by Pew's 89 million followers.
The kicker? Tetsuya Moriya, Komina's managing director, had liked the leak post. His quick unlike didn't stop screenshots from spreading. Tsuna fumed. "Let's say WindyPeak bailed over profit splits, poaching Sato and Yuki!" It was a dirty move to shift blame.
"No way," Keizo snapped. "Moriya's like confirms it's on us. We can't lie now." Tsuna gritted his teeth. Moriya's slip had trapped them. Keizo sighed. "Get Moriya here."
Tsuna balked. "You're inviting that traitor?"
"Shut it," Keizo growled. "Business isn't personal. Listen and zip it." Soon, Tetsuya Moriya entered, calm and polite, smiling as if nothing was wrong.
In Seattle, Gus Harper opened his Tech Tower apartment door to a cannonball hug from Zoey Parker. "Food!" she chirped, clinging to him.
"Careful, you'll kill me before Komina," Gus laughed, dragging her and his suitcase inside. "Made you brick rice and braised atomic bomb."
"Hardcore menu!" Zoey grinned, hopping down. "Tougher than San Francisco's Michelin spots?"
Gus smirked. "San Francisco, huh? Charity Week with PacificTech, or just shopping and zoo trips?"
Zoey pouted. "It was work! Conferences, ideas…" She'd stayed a week, "inspecting" luxury stores and the Golden Gate Bridge, dreaming of tiling it to lose money.
"Block me on X posts next time," Gus teased. They bantered, setting the table with hot and cold dishes. Zoey, kicking her feet, asked, "Project update, President Gus?"
"Smooth," Gus said, eating her picked dish. "Told the team you're pissed at Komina's betrayal. They're fired up to crush them. Sato's practically chanting your name."
Zoey froze mid-bite. "What?"
"Tsuna Yamamoto's leading Silent Hill," Gus continued. "He wanted a free ride, but Sato, Yuki, and Kazu Okura bailed—Okura's on 'sick leave.' Their P.T. team's toast."
Zoey's jaw dropped. "And?"
"Komina's screwed," Gus said. "Moriya liked the leak post. Now everyone knows we got kicked. X is a warzone—#FxxkKOMINA's trending. They shut off comments."
Zoey choked. "Moriya what? He's their exec! How's Komina this bad?"
Her phone rang. Gus glanced at it. "Speak of the devil—Moriya." He answered on speaker. "Hey, Tetsuya."
"Gus, you good?" Tetsuya asked, chuckling.
"Not bad," Gus said. "You holding up?"
"Thanks for asking," Tetsuya replied. Silence followed.
Gus spoke. "Thanks for standing up for us."
"Don't mention it," Tetsuya sighed. "I don't deserve it."
Zoey's eyes widened. Gus nodded. Tetsuya's "accidental" like was no mistake—he'd sabotaged Komina's betrayal.